Cup or lining for golf-holes.



C. H. MICHAEL.

CUP 0R LlNlNG FOR GOLF HOLES.

APPLICATION FlLED MAR.2B.191S.

1,291,057, Patented Jan. 14, 1919.

CHARLES H. MICHAEL, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK.

CUP 0R LINING FOR GOLF-HOLES.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented J an. 14, 1919.

Application filed March 28, 1918. Serial No. 225,143.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES H. MICHAEL, a citizen of the United States, residing at Buffalo, in the county of Erie and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Cups or Linings for Golf- I-Ioles, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to cups or linings for the ball receiving holes of golf courses.

It is usual in golf courses to employ cups or linings in the holes in the ground into which the balls are knocked in playing the game. These cups or linings support and hold intact the walls of the holes, and are usually provided with holes intheir bottoms or with other means for receiving the staffs of flags or hole-markers to support the staffs in upright positions. The cups or linings heretofore ordinarily used for this purpose are objectionable for various reasons. Water and mud frequently collect in the cups so that when the balls drop into the cups they become wet and muddy and have to be washed or wiped olf. Unless provision is made for wiping off the balls, careless players are apt to wipe the balls on the greens, leaving thereon streaks of mud which harden and form ridges or lumps that deflect the rolling balls and are a source of considerable annoyance to the players. In cases where the staff is supported by sticking its lower end into the ground through a holein the bottom of the cup, the stafi' is not held rigidly if the ground is soft and is liable to tip over and break the edges of the hole or of the cup. Furthermore, with such cups it frequently happens that when the marker staff is pulled out of the hole it draws mud or water up through the hole into the cup, or mud adheres to the staff and, if the marker is laid down, it leaves mud on the green which is objectionable for the reason above stated. A special tool or implement is also required for pulling these cups out of the holes in the ground.

One object of the invention is to provide a practical and desirable cup or lining for golf holes, which is of simple and inexpensive construction, but overcomes the objections noted to the cups or linings heretofore employed. Other objects of the invention are to construct the cup or lining so that it will support the marker firmly in upright position and will prevent the marker staff or cylinder.

from becoming muddy or drawing mud or water up into the cup when the stafi is withdrawn from the cup; also to provide the cup with a part or member which is adapted to support the golf balls off of the bottom of the cup and out of any mud or water which may be contained in the cup, thus always keeping the balls clean; and also to construct this ball support or member so that it forms a convenient handle or grip adapted to be grasped by the hand for pulling the cup out of the hole in the ground, thus avoiding the necessity for a cup pulling implement.

In the accompanying drawings:

Figure l is a sectional elevation of'a golf hole cup or lining embodying the invention, showing the same in place in the golf hole and also showing the marker in position in the cup. I

Fig. 2 is a plan view of the cup or lining.

The cup or lining has an upright annular or cylindrical wall A which fits in the hole in the ground and forms a lining for the walls of the hole, and a bottom or end piece B which with the wall A forms a cup or receptacle adapted to receive the golf balls.

Preferably the wall A is formed by a tube or cylinder of sheet metal and the bottom B is formed by a separate piece or disk which is suitably secured in the sheet metal tube or cylinder. As shown, the sheet metal tube on cylinder is provided with a circumferential inwardly bent bead or rib (3* just beneath the outer edge of the bottom B, which serves as a stop to prevent the bottom from being forced downwardly out of place in the tube The tube or cylinder can be made to tightly embrace the edge of the bottom B or the bottom can be fixedly secured in the tube or cylinder by soldering, welding, or in any other convenient Way. The sheet metal tube or cylinder preferably extends below the bottom B of the cup and is Thus, the stafl cannot be forced into the soil.

through the socket and cannot become muddy or wet as in the case of cups in which the end of the staif is stuck into the ground through a hole in the bottom of the cup.

F represents a ball support or member which is arranged within the cup or lining above the bottom B thereof. This ball support or member is preferably in the form of a short, hollow, central column f rising from the bottom B and provided with an enlarged circular head or outwardly flanged upper end. The column f is in line with and forms an upward continuation of the staff receiving socket E. The bottom B, socket E and ball support or member F with its column f are all preferably formed'in a single integral iron casting. The staff socket and the upward continuation thereof formed by the column f provide a socket or tube of considerable vertical length and the marker staff seated therein is therefore firmly and securely held in the intended upright po-- 'sition. The upper end of the socket cavity is enlarged somewhat or has rounded edges, in order to facilitate the insertion of the staff into the socket. The ball support or member F is of such a size horizontally that the space in the cup between the edge of the support and the upright wall A of the cup is not large enough to allow the golf balls to fall past the support to the bottom. of the cup. In any position of a ball or balls in the cup, the support F holds the ball or balls off of the bottom of the cup and therefore keeps the balls out of any mud or water which may have collected in the bottom of the cup. Two positions of a ball on the ball support are indicated by the dotted circles G in Fig. 1. As the upper end of the ball support projects laterally outwardly from the column, it constitutes a head or part adapted to be grasped by the fingers and to serve as a handle or grip for pulling the cup or lining out of the hole in the ground. Since it is desirable to change the location of the holes in the greens at frequent in tervals, it is necessary to remove the cup or lining from one hole and place it in a new hole. The construction described is therefore desirable, as it enables the cup to be easily pulled out of the hole without necessitating.

the use of a tool or implement for this purpose.

I claim as my invention:

1. A cup or lining for golf holes comprising an upright annular wall, and a member secured in said cup above the lower end thereof and forming a handle for lifting the cup,'said member being of a horizontal dimension to prevent a golf ball from falling past the same in the cup andbeing provided with a socket adapted to receive and support sion to prevent a golf ball from falling past the same in the cup.

4. A cup or lining for golf holes comprising an upright annular wall, a bottom, and a hollow column which rises from the bottom of said cup and has an enlarged head forming a handle for lifting the-cup, said column forming a socket adapted to receive and support a marker staff.

5. A cup or lining for golf holes com: prising an upright annular wall, a bottom and a hollow column which rises from the bottom of said cup and has an enlarged head forming a handle for lifting the cup, said head being of a size adapted to prevent a golf ball from falling past the same to the bottom of the cup.

6. A cup or lining for golf holes comprising an upright annular wall, a bottom, and a column which rises ,from the bottom of said cup and has an enlarged head of a size adapted to prevent a golf ball from falling past the same to the bottom of the cup.

Witness my hand this 26th day of March, 1918.

C. W. PARKER, M. J. PITMAN.

tlopies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the "Commissioner of Batents, Washington, D. 0. 

